Brooder.



J. A. CLARK.

BROODBR.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2,1912.

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

3 SHEETS-BHEBT 2.

A TTORNE Y 8 J. A. CLARK.

BROODER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2, 1912.

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

IN V5 TO R Z (fa/m Mailman 6 4227 5 A TTOR/VE Y 8 COLUMBIA PLANOGIAPH co.. WASHINGTON, n. c

A FFTQE.

JOHN ADDISON CLARK, OF BOLCKOW, MISSOURI,

BROOIDER.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J GEN ADDISON CLARK, a citizen of the United States, and a residentof Bolckow, in the county of Andrew and State of Missouri, have invented a new and Improved Brooder, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in brooders, and it comprises a combined brooder and coop construction which is so mounted as to be automatically actuated by the weight of the chicks it contains, to cause the same to close up and house and protect the chicks when a certain number of the young fowls have entered the same. The capacity of the brooder can be adjustedto accommodate a greater or less number of chicks, and the operating parts can also be adjusted so as to require a greater or less weight to cause the breeder to close and house the chicks and at the same time prevent any more from entering it. My brooder is given the shape which best adapts it to serve these purposes, and the roof thereof is formed so as to prevent young chicks from obtaining a foot hold and thus roosting thereon for the night.

These and other features of construction will more fully appear from the following description and drawings accompanying the same, and be particularly pointed out in the claims appended thereto.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specilication, in which the same characters of reference indicate the same parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the front of my improved brooder; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a top plan, partly in section, showing the brooder with the cover or root removed; Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the top of the brooder on the line 4% of Fig, 3; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view through the adjacent edges of the body of the brooder and the top or roof therefor, showing the manner in which the roof can be held in raised position; Fig. 6 is a view of the lock, showing the same in position to hold the brooder closed; Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken through one side of the breeder, showing the catch for holding it open until a sutlicient number of chicks have entered the same; and Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the stop which projects from the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 2, 1912.

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

Serial No. 687,959.

bottom of the brooder to prevent the same from moving too far when the operating parts are actuated to close the same and house the chicks.

On the drawings the numeral 1 represents a strip of wood which is secured to a similar transverse strip 2, these strips or sticks being secured together at the middle by recessing the same, as shown in Fig. 2, and serving as a base or foundation for the brooder. 3 is a curved platform, preferably in two parts secured to the opposite ends of the strip 1, and one of the ends of the strip 2, this platform having the form shown in Fig. 3, and the widest portion containing the corner be ing so located as to be directly opposite the doorway to the inside of the breeder when the brooder is open. The platform 3 has a piece of wood 1 on the under side of the same which extends from the corner thereof opposite the doorway leading into the brooder to the point of intersection of the pieces of wood 1 and 2.

The base pieces 1 and 2 support a standard 5, which may be in the form of a piece of gas pipe or similar tubing which is rigidly secured to the foundation strips, as required. This standard 5 supports a block 6, which is so mounted thereon as to be held against rotation. For this purpose I preferably perforate the standard 5 and pass a pin shown at G in Fig. 2, through this perforation. The block (3 will be formed with a groove in its under side which receives the pin (5', and this pin (5' will therefore hold the block 6 and prevent it from slipping around on the standard. The standard may likewise be perforated adjacent its upper end to receive a pin 5, the object of this pin being to prevent the cover, which will be referred to later, from being removed or blown oil by the wind.

To the block (3 are secured a nuniber of eyelets 7, and to these eyelets are attached the upper ends of a number of springs 8. The lower ends of these springs are secured to hooks fastened to a trough-shaped member 9. This trough-shaped member 9 consists of a pair of sides 10, the lower edges of which are joined adjacent the ends by means of bottom pieces of metal or wood, shown at 11, the space between these bottom pieces 11 permitting the standard 5 to pass through. The trough 9 serves as a suspension for a cross-beam 12, as is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, this cross-beam 12 being rigidly secured at its opposite ends to the body 13 of the brooder, this body being made of strips of tin or other metal bent in the form shown and closed by means of a suitable bottom, shown at 14. The side of the body 13 has a doorway or entrance 15 cut therethrough, and the lateral edges of this doorway are bent inward, as shown at 16, and these inbent portions 16 are perforated as shown at 16.

The object of the perforations 16 is to enable the size of the opening to be increased or decreased at will. This is accomplished by means of rods or wires which are passed through the perforations 1G; and it will be obvious that if a single wire be passed through the uppermost pair of apertures 16 on either side of the doorway, the size of this doorway will be decreased to a certain extent. If more than a single wire be employed, the size of this doorway will be still further decreased, and, thus, only chicks of a certain size will be permitted to enter. As the chicks grow, these wires may be removed so as to increase the size of the doorway to the extent required. The wire rods or the like which may be employed to decrease the size of the doorway 15 in this manner are shown at 4st in Fig. 2, the crossbeam 12 having notches 12 in its ends to receive them. The wire rods are kept in this position when they are not needed.

The cross-beam 12 has a pair of adjustable threaded bolts 17 passing through the same on either side of the standard These bolts have wing-heads at their upper ends so that they can be adjusted by means of the lingers of the attendant, and they pass through the cross-beam 12 to engage the bottom pieces 11 of the trough 9. he crossbeam is also provided with apertures 18 which pass through the same from one side to the other on either side of the standard 5; and these openings 18 can be made to serve the same purpose as the bolt 17, by passing pins shown at 18 in Fig. 1-, there through; that is to say, they can cause the beam 12 to be suspended high or low in the trough 9, as conditions may require.

The roof or cover for the breeder is shown at 19, and this cover is made conical to prevent the chicks from finding a foot hold on the outside of the same and roosting thereon. From the inside surface projects a stop 20, which extends down below the top of the cross-beam 12 and limits the rotation of the cover 19 with respect to the top; and 21 is an eyelet or finger hold on the outside of the roof to permit the same to be manipulated. The top of the body of the brooder and the bottom edge of the cover 19 are provided with wire ribs 22 and 23, respectively, to strengthen the same, as shown, the edges being crimped over the wires to hold them in place. The inner side of the body is also provided adjacent its upper edge with a plurality of pivoted blocks 24. The object of these blocks is to permit the cover to be raised to provide a space between the upper edge of the body 13 and the roof or cover Ior purposes of ventilation; and when the blocks 24f are turned to vertical position this effect produced. When they are turned to lie in horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 3,

the cover will rest upon the top of the body and close the same.

The numeral 25 represents a curved plate which is secured to the inner curved edge of the platform 3, and secured to one edge of this plate is a curved sheet of foraminous material 26, which is bent away from the inner edge of the platform 3 at its outer end, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing. The adjacent ed es of the plate 25 and the sheet of foraminous material 26 are secured together and to a standard 3 mounted upon the platform 3 to brace the same. l ormally, when the brooder is closed, the doorway 15 will be located directly behind the forami nous material 25, to prevent the feathered occupants from making their exit.

Adjacent the bent end of the foraminous sheet 26 is a standard 27, which is bent over toward the outer surface of tne body 13 at its top, and this bent end supports a coiled spring 28 secured thereto and to an eyelet in the platform 3, so as to be held in verti cal position. This spring serves the door guard and acts in a manner that will be eX- plained later.

Pivoted to the outer face of the body 13 of the breeder at some distance from the doorway 15 and adjacent the bottom of the brooder is a wedge-shaped block 29, and located near this block 29 is a pin or projection 30, which extends outward from the curved side wall of the breeder. This pin engages a pivoted catch 31, which is allowed to swing in one direction, and is held against movement in the opposite direction by means of a pin or stop 32, mounted on a block 33 carried by one end .f the wooden strip 2.

3 1 represents a series of holes in the platform 3 adjacent the inner edge of the same; and 35 is a pin or stop which fits into any one of these holes.

The numeral represents a block having one end beveled, carried by the platform 3 above one end of the base piece 1, and nor- -mally located between the block 33 and the standard 21', the purpose of this block being to hold the brooder in open position.

The numerals 37 represent a pair of bolts similar to the bolts 17, passing through apertures in the end of the cross-beam 12, and having screw-threaded engagen'ient adjacent their lower ends with a bar To the sides of this bar are pivoted a pair of strips 39, and these strips support semi-circular ribs fastened thereto at their opposite ends. Each of the bars 39 and ribs thus forms a semi -circular frame which is covered by means of a web of fabric 11.

12 are strips of fabric which are arranged around the inside of the body of the brooder and have lugs 13 which engage the top edge of the body 13 and hold the fabric 412 in place.

15 represents flat strips or plates secured to the tops of the strips or bars 39 and extending under the lateral edges of the bar 38, the purpose of these plates 15 being to hold the semicircular frames covered by the fabric 11, in horizontal position, permitting them to be raised upward but preventing them from swinging downward beyond a certain point.

In practice, the position of the cross-beam 12 with respect to the suspension trough 9 will be so adjusted as to cause the body 13 of the brooder to be retained at such a level. that the pin or projection 30 will normally be above the lower end of the swinging arm This can be effected either by means of the apertures 18 and the pins 18', or by turning the screws 17 which have screwthreaded engagement with the crossbeam 12. To open the brooder, one takes hold of the eyelet 21 and turns the cover, and the projection on the inside thereof will engage the beam 12 and turn the body 13 with it, This will move the doorway 15 from behind the plate 25 and foraminous sheet 26 to the position shown in Fig. 1, the pin or projection 30 passing by the swinging arm 3.1, and being held by the swinging arm against returning. When a sufficient number of young chicks pass inside the brooder through the doorway 15 at night fall or at any other time, the body 13, which has no engagement with the standard 5 except through the springs 8, will be depressed against the tension of the springs 8, and as a result the projection 30 will finally clear the lower end of the arm 31. This relative position of the parts is illustrated on Fig. 7. The action of the springs S will now cause the body 13 to swing to such an extent as to carry the doorway 15 behind the plate 25 and close up the brooder; and it will be ob served that when the brooder is swung to open position the lower ends of the springs 8 are caused to rotate to a certain extent around the standard 5 to come into position to exert a returning force on the brooder when the same is released in the manner described. When the brooder swings shut, the block 29 will slide up over the top of the stop 35. W hen it passes the stop the rear end of the block will drop down into contact with the platform 3, and this stop will then prevent the body of the brooder from mov ing to uncover the doorway 15. As a result, the brooder will be closed up and the chicks housed and protected for the night. Whether the block 29 will hold the body with the doorway adjacent the foraminous member 26 or behind the solid plate 25, will depend upon the position of the stop 35, a plurality of the holes 31- being provided to enable the position oil the stop 35 to be ad justed. The stop 35 will further be employed to cause the doorway to be located behind the plate 25 when the brooder moves after being released from the stop 31 to a greater or less extent, merely by providing a. sullicient number of holes 31. For example, the pinmay be set in such a way that the doorway will be partly closed by the plate 25 to any required extent, and the brooder protected against the intrusion of animals destructive to the poultry, by the interposition of the screen 26 over the remaining portion of the doorway. In this way the occupants of the coop can be protected from harm, and all necessary ventilation readily secured.

The object of the spring 28 is to prevent any chicks from being accidentally caught between one edge of the doorway 15 and the edge of the foraminous sheet 26, and injured, if a chick should be .in the act of trying to enter the brooder when it begins to close up. The effect of this door guard will be to sweep aside any chick that might otherwise be caught between the end of the foraminous sheet 26 and one edge of the doorway 15, and push it into the breeder.

In order to prevent the brooder from swinging to such an extent as to cause a collision between the trailing block 2t) and the door guard, l form a projection {l6 on the bottom 1. 1: of the brooder. This projection is located in such a position that it will strike the foundation piece 1, but the trailing block cannot strike the door guard 28. A notch is formed in the member 2 to permit the projection to pass.

The exlent of the doorway 1? can be regulated by means of rods passed through the apertures 16, so as to prevent chicks above a certain size from entering the same. TJlkC" wise, the weight required to cause the body of the brooder to sink and make the projection 30 clear the lower end of the arm 3 can be controlled by adjusting the depth at which the cross-beam 12 is carried in the suspension trough S). This can be ell'ccted by turning the screw .17 or by properly placing the pins 18 in the apertures 18. 1f the means in question are manipulated. so as to raise the beam 12 with respect to the trough S), the ellect of course will be to elevate the body 1 of the brooder and make it necessary for a larger nun'iber of chicks to enter the same before the body will be depressed to such an extent as to re case it. The screws 17 are preferably for close adjustment, but careless attendants will allow them to become rusted, so that they will stick in their sockets and refuse to work. In this case the pins 18 can be used instead.

The purpose of the semi-circular frames or wings which support the sheets of fabric 41, is to carry material to be placed thereon to absorb and retain the warmth generated by the chicks when huddled together in the brooder. The distance of the sheets of fabric il above the bottom lt of the breeder can be adjusted by means of the thumbscrews 37, according to the size of the chicks for which the breeder is used. The cloth or other fabric will protect the chicks from contact with the inner surface of the cold metal walls of the brooder, and line chaff or other litter will be spread over the floor for the same purpose.

My improved brooder is positive in action, being operated by gravity, and while it is not a weighing machine, it may be readily adjusted to act as such for all practical purposes in poultry raising. There are no angles on the inside of he same into which the chicks may be crowded and smothered, and the shape of the roof is such that it does not afford any foothold to enable the chicks to try to roost thereon, as above set forth, and thus a good deal of the nuisance and vexation against which poultry raisers have to contend is eliminated. By means of the automatic action of the parts causing the breeder to close up when filled to a certain extent, danger of overcrowding and the resultant weakening effect and liability to diseases are entirely obviated, and these re sults are, further, insured with no extra attention on the part of the attendant. These breeders will of course be used in groups, and some of them can therefore be located to raise young chicks of one size and be operated when they are loaded up to a certain weight, and others be adjusted so that they will accommodate chickens of another size and be operated to close when loaded up to another weight, so as to accommodate and take care of all grades and ages of young fowls; and should there be any in the poultry yard which do not get weighted up to the closing point, by reason of the fact that the last ones that fill always take the overtiow from the others, a slight pressure on the lid will press down the body and allow tl breeder to close in the ordinary way.

The function of the button 36 is to enable the breeder to be kept in open position when for any reason it is not desired e1 at the same can swing to closed position, and it is made effective by rotating it to bring its beveled end beneath the bottom of the broader. ll hen the breeder is opened and the beveled end of the button 36 is turned to pass under the bottom thereof the structure will remain in open position, regardless of the weight therein contained, until the said button is turned aside. The cover or top 19 can be raised and held in raised position by the pivoted blocks 2a, to supplement the ventilating effect of the doorway at such times. It is also to be noted that by regulating the height to which the cross beam 12 is supported in the trough 9, the weight required to liberate the breeder and cause it to swing to closed position can be readily adjusted. This weight will be controlled so as to be greater as the young chicks grow, and if at any time the breeder will not swing shut when all the occupants are housed within the same the poultryman can merely press down upon the top when making his rounds in the evening, to release the pin from the catch 32 and thus allow the parts to be swung to closed position.

I wish to have it understood that the above description and drawings disclose but one embodiment of my invention, and that I. desire the right to make such small changes as fall within the scope and spirit of my invention, and do not wish to be limited to the details thereof, except in so far as is indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

-1. In an improvement of the kind described, the combination of a hollow body having doorway through the wall thereof, a standard passing through the bottom of said body, resilient means for suspending said body from said standard to enable the same to rotate around said standard and be elevated or depressed with respect thereto, a projection mounted upon the outside of said body, a catch mounted upon a fixed support adjacent said body to be engaged by said projection, said catch permitting said projection to pass when the body is moved in one direction, but holding the same against movement in the opposite direction, and a fixed member mounted adjacent said body in such position as to be spaced from the doorway to the interior of the same when the said projection engages said catch, whereby when the said body is weighted, depressing the projection below the catch, the springs will cause the body to rotate around the axis to move the doorway opposite the fixed member and close the same.

In apparatus of the kind described, the combination of a body having a doorway through the wall thereof, a standard upon which said body is mounted to rotate, resilient means connecting said body to said standard to support the same in suspended position, fixed n'iember mounted adjacent said body, means for holding said body in position to keep said doorway separated from said fixed member, said means being releasable when the said body is weighted to depress the same, whereupon the said resilient means will swing the body around the axis to move the doorway behind the fixed member and close the doorway, and means carried by said body to prevent the return movement thereof to reopen said doorway.

3. In an in'lprovement of the kind de scribed, the combination of a rotatable body having a doorway through the wall thereof, a fixed member mounted adjacent said body, a sheet of ttol'aminous material forming an extension of said fixed member, and pivoted means mounted adjacent the base of the body and movable into engagement with said base to hold said body in position with the doorway behind said fixed member or behind the sheet of foraminous material a't'oresaid.

4. In an improven'ient of the kind described, the combination of a body having a transverse beam secured to the top thereof, a suspension trough receiving said beam, said beam having a plurality of apertures therethrough from one side to the other to receive pins on which said beam is supported to regulate the depth to which said beam rests in said trough, and means for suspend ing said trough.

In an improvement of the kind described, the combination of a body,a transverse beam secured to the top of the body, a suspension trough receiving said beam, a pair of bolts having serew-threaded eonnee- 'tion with said beam and passing therethrough to engage the bottom of the trough to regulate the depth to which said beam is received in said trough, and means for suspending said trough.

(3. In an improvement of the kind described, the cmnbination of a pivotallymounted body having a doorway through the wall thereof, a .[ixed member, means for moving said body to bring the doorway adjacent the fixed member and close the same, and a resilient door guard located adjacent the edge of the fixed member in ODGI'EIl'iVU relation to the doorway when the body is moved to bring the doorway into closed position.

7. The combination of a base, a body carried thereby, means for mounting the body and the base to be relatively movable, a swinging arm supported by said base, means for preventing said arm from moving in one directitm, and a pin carried by the body to engage the arm to hold the body in a certain 'iosition, said body being depressible to release the same.

8. The combination oi a base, a body, means for mounting said body on said base to make the body movable with respect to the base, said base having a plurality of apertures adjacent the edge of the body, a pin to engage any one of said apertures, and a swinging catch carried by the body, said catch permitting the body to move in one direction and engaging the pin to prevent the body from moving in the other direction.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN ADDISON CLARK.

Witnesses:

WV. V. CRAIG, S. A. Jones.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

